hand with the city of san bernardino as we do in other high-profile events. i'll now have the assistant director of the fbi say a few words. >> thank you, sheriff. the fbi is here with our state and local partners as well as our partners from the atf and we are here to essentially treat -- assure that all of the wounded are extracted and ultimately public safety is the number one goal at this point. and we will work as a law enforcement community to assure that we've done everything we can in our power to find, locate and apprehend these subjects. at this point, i know one of your questions is going to be is this a terrorist incident. i will tell you right now, we do not know if this is a terrorist incident. so we start from the beginning. working with all of our local partners. we take the presumption that it may be, it may not be. but we'll work hand in hand with them from the beginning. if things change, we're here from the get-go and there is no steps lost as the investigation

proceeds. at this point, i'm going to turn it back over to the chief. >> so very quickly, after the initial response, we have several hundred people that were in the building that are not injured. those people have been taken to a safe location and they are part of the investigation. in addition to that, we know that this is a human incident and this is a tragedy. we know we have a lot of folks out there that are very concerned and worried about loved ones that may have been at that facility today. we set up a -- at the corner of sara a way for family members to go for information. we'll push information out to that for those family members as we can. also, the sheriff's department put out the crime tip hotline number if anybody has any information, we very much would like to hear from you. so with that, i will take a couple of questions. we'll start with rob. >> [ inaudible question ]. >> i don't. i've heard everything. that it was a meeting to a

potential -- like a lunch-type gathering, maybe for the holidays. that is not confirmed. that is very preliminary. it is my understanding that most of the people that were wounded, most of the victims were all centrally located in one area of the facility. >> [ inaudible question ]. >> in terms of the employees, it is my understanding this facility has state and county employees and folks that work for a number of organizations. the inland regional center serves a number of organizations that treat mental illness type issues and that sort of stuff. i don't have -- i know that state and local county employees work there. i do not know if they are victims or who they are at this point. >> chief, could you tell us what type of weapons? >> i do not have any information that any children were involved. >> on the weapons used and the number of people involved here, given what you have in the way of evidence and witness accounts and everything else, would you characterize this as an organized event. what were the men using and

shooting at people with. >> preliminary information indicates these are people that came prepared. at they were dressed in and equipped in a way to indicate they were prepared and they were armed with long guns, not handguns. i do not know what kind of long guns. >> semi-automatic rifles. >> we don't have any weapons recovered at this point. >> could you move just a bit. there is a shadow. >> could we ask for clarification. you said upwards of 14 dead. what does upwards mean? >> the preliminary number we have right now is that there are 14 people that are deceased and our count is another 14 people that have been taken to various hospitals for significant injuries, potentially related to gunshots. we also have a number of other people that may have had some minor types of injuries. they fell down in the course of fleeing or something of that nature. but roughly about 14 we believe are wounded. >> were there security cameras inside of the building that might give video evidence. >> i imagine there are.

we are not that far into the investigation yet. >> [ inaudible question ]. >> the whole thing, i think -- >> [ inaudible question ]. >> i think that that could be a responsibility, yes. i don't think we're comfortable saying no at this point. >> have the bomb officials recovered anything that looks like an ied in the building. >> as they were searching for suspects and building, there were things in the building not immediately identifiable that caused them concern. as a result of that, we do have bomb tech on-site checking that out. i do not know if they were brought in by the suspects. we do not know if they are bombs of any sort. just things as teams were moving through said that needs to be looked at more closely. >> [ inaudible question ]. >> i don't have any information on that. >> do you have any video from inside of the building? >> you have found any vehicles

that you believe are related to this event nearby? >> not that i know of at this point. >> have the witnesses said the gunman say anything. >> we don't have anything specific. we are in the early stages of talking to them. >> do you have any other active scenes at this point. >> this is the only active scene we're working. >> what about security tape that may have been shot inside. >> that is part of the investigation. i don't have that at this point. >> could you talk about the suspects' vehicle, the darker suv. >> that is all we have. very generic, upwards of three suspects. darker suv that fled. >> suspects wearing camo plouj. >> i never heard camouflage. >> upwards of three. does that mean there could be more? >> i have repeatedly been told the number is three. but keep in mind this is information that is flowing in as people are talking to witnesses, very quickly. as we put everything together, some of this may change. we know these are fluid situations and some of the information we put out now may change a little bit in the

future. >> [ inaudible question ]. >> as far as people in the area, we're doing everything we can to keep this area safe. we are addressing other facilities in the area that we think may be similar or may be similar, but we don't have any information or credible threats to any other facilities at this point. but obviously we're on a heightened sense after letter. we would ask the public they be on a heightened sense of alert and watching out for those things and if they come across information, contact us and let us investigate it. >> [ inaudible question ]. >> i've put out what i have. >> were they wearing masks, chief? >> one report i heard was masks were involved but i don't know that to be definitive. >> do you have any active leads you are pursuing right now. >> yes. not going to talk about it. >> chief, it doesn't -- they don't say anything during the attack, during the shootings. >> not that i know of. >> any threats made -- >> that is something we won't talk specifically about right now. >> i'm a nonstate veteran and i

want to say thank you to the chiefs, all of the fire chiefs and everything, for you guys to respond. i appreciate that. >> thank you very much. >> [ inaudible question ]. >> a few minutes. >> [ inaudible question ]. >> our people in the field go into the field with what they have. we have officers with high-caliber weapons and carry assault rifles with them. most of the officers carry handguns. the officers that arrived on scene and the inland regional ishl work to go into the building and clear it went in with what they had. so -- >> [ inaudible question ]. >> we do not know where the suspects are. >> do you know how long -- how is the february getting involved in this? >> we know historically that some of the investigations can turn into a potential federal prosecution type thing. at this point we don't know that

to be the case but it is better to have them on scene from the very beginning so they know what we know and are an active part of the investigation. being from the federal government they bring to the table tremendous resources to help us in doing our job. >> we have no information at this point to indicate that this is terrorist-related in the traditional sense that people may be thinking. obviously at minimum, we have a domestic terrorist-type situation that occurred here. >> any description at all? >> we don't. >> [ inaudible question ]. >> the only thing that i'm comfortable saying at this point is that the information we have is that they came prepared to do what they did as if they were on a mission. >> [ inaudible question ]. >> several minutes. >> were they still there when the police arrived? >> we don't know. our police officers have not engaged orism changed gunfire with anybody but we don't know

if they were on scene when we arrived. >> chief, i don't know if you covered this or not, were the vast majority of the dead or wounded in one centralized location in the facility? >> yes. in the same general area of the facility. >> so we are making an assumption and i'm sorry if it is an assumption that they targeted that particular room and those particular people. >> i think we are too early in the investigation to make that assumption. we don't know what the motive is at this point. >> were people tied up and held in a room and told -- was this a shootout? >> we don't have any information they took any hostages. >> what type of weapons they used? could you describe the weapons they used? >> long guns, is what i've been told. i think there is people that speculate what type of long guns those are. but i don't want to put out a specific type of gun. i will just say it is a long gun, not a handgun. >> rifle or shotgun. >> they came in with a purpose. it was -- they came in with the intent to do something. >> was there any threat made to the facility prior to the

incident. >> i don't have specifics on that. with that, we're going to cut this off. we'll be back every hour on the hour to provide an update, even if we don't have any specifically. we'll come back to you every hour on the hour for the next several hours to provide you an update. >> at the top of the hour. >> at the top of the hour. thank you. >> they are there with really the cursory amount of information they have at this point on the event that took place beginning at 11:00 a.m. pacific time when the up to three shooters entered the inland regional center there in san bernardino. and opened fire. we now have more definitive numbers. up to 14 fatalities as a result of the shooting and upwards of 14 injured who have been taken to local hospitals in the area. and they believe that the three

suspects with the long guns, as he put it, have fled the area in what is believed to be a dark-colored suv. jane wells is on-site there with that. jane. >> reporter: hey, bill. to summarize, up to 14 dead, up to 14 injured with the injuries that require them to go to the hospital. there may be more wounded. they are still clearing the facility. they believe the three suspects have fled, possibly in a black suv. they do have active leads. but they will not indicate what they are. and they have added security to other government facilities. they are beefing up security at hospitals and schools. but the courts and local government facilities are in lockdown. there are state county employees that meet inside of this facility. all of the victims were in one area. we were told by the vice president of the board of directors for the facility that there were county employees having an event in there. the police are saying perhaps it was anything from training to some sort of holiday lunch. but he said these three suspects, maybe they were

wearing masks, we have no idea about their ethnicity or age or anything like that. but the tree suspects came in dressed and armed like they were prepared and quote, on a mission. they had long guns. it is still ongoing and the other important thing that he said is we do not know if this is a terrorist incident. it may be, or it may not be. it is just too early. they suspect that of course that there are security cameras and security video but they have not had a chance to access it yet. >> jane, just two things here that were fascinating. the first is when they -- when he said the -- the police chief, we don't know, quote, if they were on scene when we arrived. they aren't sure of that at this point. the second related piece of this quote. we do not know where the suspects are. they did not recover any weapons from the scene. so we are now assuming that the suspects are at-large, they are armed, are obviously dangerous

and what are people supposed to do? >> reporter: well, what i found comforting in that is he said they do have active leads to pursue the suspects right now. he would not give information about that, obviously. but other than the fact they have shut down county facilities and the court and beefing up security at the hospital and schools and telling the rest of the residents, just be on the lookout. what do you do. this is a large municipality out here in san bernardino. this is the largest city here east of los angeles. so you can't, in this sense, shut down the whole city. i would say that, while the police chief and the sheriff appeared concerned, there was a calmness about them. and i don't know what that means. that they are on to something with these guys. but again, no vehicle found here. no i.d., not even an ethnicity on the guys. and no idea when they left the facility, no weapons. they don't know if it is a

terrorist event. maybe or maybe not. >> jane, for now, thank you. our jane wells on the scene there. with us now with more is a professor at cal state san bernardino in the criminal justice department. thank you for joining us. and again, this situation is now one that i'm sure you and the rest of the community is now extremely concerned about. where are these guys and what are they going to do next? >> that is something that we're really not in a position to say anything about yet. but in echoing some of the comments that you just made, it's really important for the community to know that there is a very strong, what we refer to as a suecurity network, that links law enforcement with medical and fire, all of the first responders. and they've all been activated and called up. so it is not just in in the immediate vicinity but also extensive across the whole region. >> can we assume -- i have to echo what jane said, there was a level of calmness in how this was being delivered.

these guys are at large. no weapons have been recovered. no information except they are in a dark-colored suv. we don't know if they are even in the vehicle still. are we to assume there is more information that they have more concrete leads to give them that sense of calmness that we did pick up on. >> most definitely. and that is part of an aboutive investigation. they cannot make that information public when they are following up because that might alert the suspects. so it is very important they follow up on these things and there will be a small delay before they could give that information to the public. >> what do you make of this incident at this place on this day? you know the area. and the fact that it is three suspects, presumably wearing masks, heavily armed, a clear purpose in mind. executed flawlessly, in and out before the police even know what is going on here. what do you make of all of that, professor? >> there is so many different explanations for why violence may occur in a particular

location like this. and anything from work-place related violence to a family or another sort of issue. it could be gang-related, organize crime, terrorism. there is so many different factors. we're really not in a position to say anything. >> are those issues in san bernardino? >> various crime issues exist across the nation. you can't say it is located in one place and so it is just something that needs to be considered. it is going to shape their investigation and how they pursue. this but as as the public are in no position to even speculate as to what might be behind this. what we do know is that we need to allow the professionals to do their job and remain calm and avoid the area so they have the space to work. >> okay. >> we have to leave it there, professor. thank you for joining us. >> appreciate it. >> we don't want to speculate

but we have to figure out, as law enforcement is trying to do, where these guys are and what, if any, intentions they have from here. jane wells has more. jane? >> reporter: kelly, i'm with david boudich, assist abts director for the l.a. office of the fbi. and you were called out here. what -- based on the facts you know, what is your experience, what does your gut tell but this? >> we just don't know. i've been to a few of these active shooter investigations an they change quickly as time goes on. i like to use the term, we go where the evidence takes us and that is what we'll do here. there have been reports of up to three shooters. we don't know if that is the case yet. but we do know we have some very traumatized individuals and some very severely injured individuals that we need to make sure they are cared for first and make sure that the public is safe so that we're doing everything in our realm to assist our local partners to find and apprehend these guys. >> it does seem strange, the freeways are still open.

obviously they've locked down city and county courts and government buildings is and -- and beefing security and talking to schools. but with potentially three well-armed murderers on the loose in san bernardino, what can you do? >> well, we are doing everything you can. you cannot shut the city, the area down. that could create more chaos. but if we put them in an area, absolutely. the local departments know how to handle that very well and they are exceptional at it. and if they need to shut an area down, they will do whatever they need to do. our first priority is finding the guys and then the investigation will take us where we need to go. >> reporter: they say we don't know whether or not it is terrorism. but the fact that you have three shooters, it could go either way, domestic terrorism, foreign terrorism or something completely different. this is not one shooter. in your experience, how does that change the dynamic if there are three well-armed, well-organized, quote on a mission. >> i'm not sure we're there yet. i'm not sure there are three shooters. witness accounts vary greatly in

any incident like this and they often will change. it is very possible there is three. there is possible there is one. >> reporter: but if there is, how does that change -- >> it changes the game. and it is very unusual. i will give you that. i'm not willing to say this is terrorism, we don't know that. >> david boudich, you have many reporters pulling on your sleeve here. thank you very much. kelly, back to you. >> thank you, jane. let's get straight over to eamon javers for more of reaction out of washington. >> earlier this afternoon, president obama was getting set to give a prescheduled interview with cbs news. he was informed of the situation and he did give some comment on this to cbs news. here is what the president had to say earlier today. >> we don't know that much yet. it is still an active situation. the fbi is on the ground offering assistant to local officials as they need it. it does appear there will be some casualties. and obviously our hearts go out

to the victims and the families. the one thing we do know is that we have a pattern now of mass shootings in this country that has no parallel anywhere else in the world. and there are some steps we could take not to eliminate every one of these mass shootings, but to improve the odds that they don't happen as frequently. common sense gun safety laws. stronger background checks. and for those who are concerned about terrorism, some may be aware of the fact that we have a no-fly list where people can't get on planes but the same people who we don't allow to fly could go into a store right now in the united states and buy a firearm and there is nothing we could do to stop them. that is a law that needs to be changed. and so, you know, my hope is

that we're able to contain this particular shooting and we don't yet know what the motives of the shooters are. but what we do know is that there are steps we could take to make americans safer. and that we should come together in a bipartisan basis at every level of government to -- to make these rare as opposed to normal. we should never think that this is something that just happens in the ordinary course of events. because it doesn't happen with the same frequency in other countries. >> that was an interview given at about quarter of 4:00 eastern time this afternoon. by president obama to cbs news. obviously, that was early on in the process of understanding what has taken place in san bernardino, california. but you heard the president mention the phrase for those of you concerned about terrorism, obviously that was a thought on the president's mind as early as that this afternoon. but you said we simply don't

know what the motives of the shooters were in the situation. he did mention that we have a no-fly list in this country of terrorist suspects or those who are on a watch list of concern for law enforcement and intelligence. and those people can still get guns in this country. that plays into a gun control debate that we've had on capitol hill in the wake of the paris attacks of whether or not additional steps should be taken to control the flow of guns in this country. obviously, a very contentious national debate. the president clearly on one side of it. this afternoon we'll also be hearing from the speaker of the house, paul ryan and we wait to see what he has to say about this and whether he invoked this gun control, mental health debate playing out politically time and time again after each of the shootings in the country. at this point the president is saying he does not know and the united states does not know what the motives of the shooters are. his comments there matching what you heard from law enforcement on the ground, guys. >> thanks very much. joining us now, also from

washington, is ambassador james woolsey, we are pleased to welcome the former director of the central intelligence agency, mr. ambassador, or director, i don't know how to appropriately address you, it is wonderful to have you with us. thank you for being with us here. >> great to be with you. >> what do you make of this situation? and right now we are focusing on the fact that officials there have not closed down a wider area when we know that the shooters are still at large. we believe they escaped in an suv of some kind. and they are heavily armed. are you surprised that more has not been done or does that suggest they know more than they are telling us right now. >> i'm not sure. if you'll let me brain-storm on this with you. >> you bet. >> because i'm not suggesting any conclusions. it is much too early for that. but there are a few interesting things about this. first of all, these three guys look to be quite disciplined and

well-organized. they are in a black suv, usually suvs have tinted windows. they reportedly drove away slowly, not to attract attention. so the possibility of changing clothes, getting out of their armored-proof vests and putting everything they've got in a bag in the back of the suv and driving away slowly could make it possible for them to go great distances and get away very, very substantially. i think it is also -- you know, it would be possible for them to take their license plate and smear mud on it so people couldn't find out who they were. this is at the intersection, as i understand it, of two major freeways in southern california. and it is also very close to an airport. so the ability to stash your

armor-piercing protection vest and your gun in the back of an suv and fly out to someplace, any play, could have happened relatively quickly. the employees at the time in this institution were, someone said, either undergoing a training session or they were perhaps having a christmas party of some kind. but what we do know so far is that this is not like paris, where at least in one phase there was an attack on a kosher grocery, which would suggest anti-semitism. there wasn't attacks as there has been in the past on a birth control clinics, for people who want to do that. so this -- there is no particular motive that comes out of the action itself, the way it sometimes does in these. this looks as if it is possible, this is an effort to frighten

our whole society. and it might be the first -- i hope i'm wrong about this. but this could conceivably be the first of several undertakings of this sort. >> in other words, the randomness was the point? >> exactly. >> if can could happen there, it could happen anywhere. >> exactly. >> this is different from the worst mass shootings that we've seen in which it was often lone gunman with suicide sidal or monomaniacal tendencies. and as we heard from the chief, it would be three people, it depends on what the witness says and what they could see in the video tapes. does that affect the reading that you have of it at the moment? >> yes. i would say this is terrorism, but it could be terrorism on behalf of a very small group of just a few people who want to terrorize society. and they could be working for or be involved with some very large group that was wanting to

terrorize. but it doesn't look like they were robbing anybody. they weren't trying to kidnap anyone. there seems to be to be almost no explanation except within this very broad definition of terrorism. >> right. >> some kind of terrorism. >> so let's keep thinking this through then with you. so why do you believe they haven't tried to close down a wider area? do they believe they are not there? >> an suv on a los angeles freeway making 60, or 70 miles per hour, if they got underway relatively quickly, they could be in las vegas or san diego or mexico. lots of places. >> so it would be counter productive -- they could shut it down but it might be counter productive as the fbi official told our reporter just now, you might be promoting a sense of panic that is unnecessary at this point. is that the idea? >> i don't know. if it increased your chances --

[ technical difficulties ] from and if you shut anyplace down, you might have to shut down a very large area. >> what happens if they have a grudge of some sort? >> well, that is what makes it odd it would be this institution. this is an institution that helps people. it is not a birth control clinic. it is not a kosher grocery. it is -- it is just a general governmental and non-profit effort to help people. that is not the kind of thing that raises a grudge. >> and we often hear from people in your line of business that after each attack like this, something new is learned. it is very early, this is still happening. but can you give us a sense of what may be learned here, especially if this turns out to be a random attack of some kind, purposely. >> well, one thing that we have

to watch out for is suppose isis takes credit for this. but we don't know whether they are lying or not. maybe they take credit for all kinds of terrorist activities and maybe they plan some of them, and maybe they don't plan others and still take credit. i don't know. >> right. >> yeah. >> mr. woolsey, a pleasure to talk to you. thank you for your insights. >> terrible issue. i hope we don't have to do this again. >> exactly. former cia director james woolsey joining us. >> and back to the news desk with sue herera. >> here on cnbc, 14 dead and 14 injured in this event that happened at about 11:00 a.m. pacific time out in san bernardino, california. there were several hundred people in this building that was targeted at the time of the shooting. according to police, the motive of the shooting is not known, according to police. the shooters were prepared, as if they came on a mission. there is no credible threats to

other locations. the police are looking for vehicles that left the scene or a vehicle that left the scene. the shooters were in military-style attire. that is from reuters. the sheriff said the area remains very active. the shootings came near the social services center. and president obama has been briefed and commented on the situation. bill and kelly, nbc news.com points out to us that the deadliest u.s. mass shooting since newtown, connecticut, back in 2012. back to you. >> sue, thank you. the other question here for everybody in that area is what to do now. because if anything, all we've learned from the police chief is that they didn't know when they arrived on the scene if the gunman or men were still there. quote, he said, we do not know where the suspects are. there are very few details about what if any vehicle they were involved in or where that

vehicle might be. is there -- let's ask bob strain, former co-chair of the new york -- former fbi and korm former co-chair of the anti-terrorism task force. bob, these are key questions for everybody in this area right now. >> yeah, i mean, this is an alarming situation. so you have the hospitals, the schools, all of the public institutions, everything on lockdown. the key right now is for law enforcement to continue to interview all of the people who were inside the facility. to see if anybody has any type of photos, any type of eyewitness accounts, any type of information that will be helpful. the other thing that they're going to be doing immediately is checking all of the cctv. you will look and see whether the facility is a not for profit, government-type facility where there is probably some cctv, the closed caption television that could get the

individuals walking in, be able to get the vehicles, a description on the vehicles and perhaps even a license plate. and then you're going to take it outside of the perimeter and going to trax locations, go to -- traffic locations and go to banks and look around the facility and everything that is possible to get some type of photo of that vehicle. and that is what is happening right now. the police are moving very quickly and this is standard procedure. it is to try to get as much information from all of these sources as quickly as they can. >> you know, kelly and i have been talking here, we are reminded of previous events and the event of -- whenever this was. the two men that escaped from the prison in upstate new york, a huge manhunt was instigated immediately and there was a sense of purpose in all of that. and i know it is very early and we're not trying to sound like we are second-getting the san bernardino police and other

officials there but you don't sense that here. the police officers, the police chief and the sheriff and the fbi official who held the news conference, there was very much a sense of calm, even though these three attackers are at large and heavily armed. what do you make of that, bob? >> i do think that based on -- based on all of the witnesses that were there, based on the -- the awareness in terms of the police with cctv, with the witnesses, with other types of monitoring devices, that they are probably looking for a certain vehicle, looking for certain individuals. again, they are going to be checking with informants, they are going to be looking in -- in all of the different types of wire taps. anything going on with the federal government in terms of information about how this might have happened. >> i get that. but don't you -- so apparently by not shutting down certain areas or whatever and i don't want to keep harping on that, they don't believe average citizens could be in danger if

they encounter these individuals in this dark suv. >> well, there is no question. look, they've shut down the schools. they've shut down the public facilities. they've basically locked down the town. they are doing everything they can to try to get this information. there is no sense of going up there and panicking. because you have to reassure the community and the public that you are doing everything humanly possible to be able to apprehend these individuals who have killed these people as quickly as you could. >> bob strang formerly with the fbi. appreciate it. thank you very much. back to jane wells on-site there in san bernardino. jane? >> reporter: hey, bill, with me is teresa holdine who has a couple of children who are clients at the facility. but they were not here today. >> no, not today. >> reporter: tell me about the facility and what is it like and why do you think something like this would happen. >> it is just devastating. they are friendly here. the counselors are like family.

we've been with them over 20 years now. we are really close. we're like family. i'm still in shock to hear what's happened. i don't even know what to say. i'm in stock this could happen here. this is to help the disabled children and adults. and this is hard to believe that this could happen. >> were you familiar with this first floor conference room or whatever it was where this meeting was taking place? >> i'm not familiar with this. because we go into individual rooms and we have meetings there and talk to doctors and counselors for the kids. and i -- i'm not familiar. >> reporter: you have been able to reach the people you know here? >> i haven't. i've tried reaching counselors that i'm close with and a doctor and i can't get ahold of anybody. >> reporter: did you grow up around here. >> i did. >> reporter: this is a big place. the city has over 200,000 people, the county has 2 million people. it has its crime issues. but anything like this, from someone who is around here, what

is your reaction to something like this happening here? >> it is just horrible. it is hard to believe that this happened here. it is. >> reporter: do you feel safe? they're not shutting down the city. they are only shutting down county buildings and beefing security at schools and hospitals. do you feel safe driving around. are you going to let your kid go to school tomorrow? >> i will probably keep them out of school tomorrow. it is hard to feel safe around now because of what is going on. >> thank you for joining us. best of luck. i hope you find your friends and they are able to reach out to you later tonight. bill and kelly, back to you. >> while we have you, jane, we'll hear from the police around the top of the hour, but is there information on how people in the surrounding area are reacting to guys or guys being at-large? >> you know, i can't answer that question for you, kelly. because i'm here in just this local area. but all i can tell you is -- everybody knew about this, just

about everybody knew about this, if you were anywhere near a radio or a tv or a smartphone today in the hour it took me -- hour plus to get out here. and yet, no visible change. traffic normal on the freeway, which is of course always horrible. but still open. and even the streets to get here, very standard. stores open. fast food places open. fast food places not a half a mile away open and life goes on as normal. but at this point -- since then i haven't been out and about and i can't tell you that. >> i know how that can be. you are on-site but isolated and on purpose. until they can get you more information. which is understandable. as it should be, right. >> reporter: well, i suppose you guys in some way are more of an advantage because if you take aerial shots from knbc, you could see what the surrounding area is doing. i have to say, san bernardino, it is a very large metropolitan

area. as you heard me say. the county is over 2 million people, the city went through chapter 9 bankruptcy. has a very high crime rate. but this is a completely different animal if you are talking about three well-armed coordinated people dressed with long rifles. and again, we're still waiting official confirmation that it is three. and at last word, we don't know where they are. we don't know who they are. but the police chief telling us they do have active leads. >> jane, thank you, for now. our jane wells. let's turn to dale monroe, a former fbi agent. 21 years in tactical operations. how do you approach this situation, sir? we might have just lost the connection there. >> you have to hope they know more than they are telling. it is clear that -- the only turn that i can think of that sounds majorive, they were

caught flat footed. they went in and had a direct purpose and had a plan and executed it flawlessly. they were in and out before the police could even get there on-site. so the police -- they were having to play catch-up right away. and you have to wonder how much more catching up they're still doing and how much they know that they are not telling us right now. >> sure. it has been a couple of hours since this happened. the police chief told us when they arrived on the scene, they didn't know if the suspect or suspects were still there. and ever since, questions remain about that. dale monroe joins us now. dale, thank you. as mentioned, you've got experience in tactical operations. what would you do here? >> well, what is going on right now, and first of all, our hearts going out to everybody there. you know it is a very, very tough situation. and what would go on now is, first of all, i heard it mentioned earlier about the

folks on scene remaining calm. and that is exactly what you want. you want the folks on the scene remaining calm. everybody in the back ground is doing all the work. and so you want that. and what is happening now is a lot of interviews, a lot of camera work, a lot of looking at what could be gathered from the scene, what could be gathered from the witnesses, from the people around these individuals, however many there are, are in the community, probably right now. so it is going to take -- unless the individuals dropped out of the sky, or came out of some good isis camp up in minnesota somewhere or that we don't know about, then people in the area know these individuals. and so that is very critical to

realize. the individuals, yes, they're dangerous. and they need to be -- everyone needs to be exercising caution. however, if they are out of there, whether they changed vehicles, whether they did anything else to help them get away from the scene, they are now in a lay-low mode. and they are going to try to blend. and so now it is investigation. and obviously law enforcement from local, state, count, federal, everybody is working together to make that happen. and hopefully they won't get far. but they have conducted a very, very sophisticated operation so far. >> do any, dale, previous examples of something like this spring to mind? >> well, if you look -- there

has been the jamaica house shooti shootings in the club in houston. there were multiple shooters there. as a matter of fact, the only reason i bring those up is because there are shooters that are still at-large from those incidents. it is not totally uncommon, although most of the time the individuals do not -- the subjects do not leave the scene and either kill themselves or killed by law enforcement. there are people that have been at large. and so this is not that unusual. >> hum. >> it is unusual. it is not uncommon. it is more uncommon the other way. but there have been instances where shooters have not been apprehended and escaped and still at large. hopefully that won't be the case with these one, two or three, it looks like two at least, two or

three individuals. >> right. as the picture becomes a little bit clearer. dale, refired fbi agent, dale monroe, thank you so much for your time, appreciate it. >> you bet. >> let's get back to sue herera. >> we want to recap what we know at this hour for people tuning in. it is still a very fluid and active situation out in san bernardino, california, east of los angeles. right now, we know that there are upwards of 14 dead. 14 injured, according to police. there were several hundred people in this social services building at the time of the shooting. they were having some sort of conference, some think it is a holiday party. that has not been confirmed, however. the motive of the shooting is not known. however the police chief that we heard earlier here on cnbc said the shooters were prepared as if they came on a mission. they do not know, and the gentleman that jane wells interviewed earlier on the board of trustees at this particular

institution, said they had no credible threats to the institution or to other locations. police are looking for the vehicles because the suspects are still at large, between one and three shooters are at large. reuters and other news organizations have said they were dressed in military-style attire or garb. there are numerous reports that they wore masks. the police would not confirm that. they did not know that yet. they had an -- hadn't interviewed all of the victims yet. but at this point we do know they were dressed in military attire. the sheriff said the scene remains very active. the shooting near the social services center occurred about 11:00 a.m. pacific time, 2:00 eastern time. the president was briefed. he made comments. there was a prearranged interview on cbs news and the president used that opportunity to once again call for gun control reform. a san bernardino police spokesperson just tells reuters,

quote, we have suspects at large but we have, quote, absolutely no idea where they are, end quote. and that perhaps is one of the most worrisome aspects of this particular case, bill and kelly, because they are very close, that particular facility, to multiple freeways. and that is why they are looking for that suv. back to you guys. >> sue, thank you. our sue herera back at news headquarters. with us now former fbi profiler mary ellen o'toole. we turn to you, again, looking for some kind of way to contextualize all of this. it is different from the mass shootings we've seen from, for example, a suicidal person who was a lone gunman. this seems, from early reports, mary ellen, to be really different, doesn't it. >> it really does. it really does. the psychology of the shooters, the motivation and how they carried it out. it does seem to be different. >> what is your first assessment

of that. for as little and as much as we know. >> well, i'll start off with this. this is a hybrid kind of a shooting. and that is very concerning to me, as someone who has been involved in these cases for almost two decades now because we are used to seeing a lone wolf or maybe two shooters but not three all mission-oriented in this well-planned-out event. not unlike in paris with the terrorists. so when you see a hybrid, a spike in a crime after it occurred for a decade, the question then is, is this now going to be a recurring type of hybrid or are we going to go back to what we've seen in the past. and this probably is going to be a new -- this is going to happen again, is what i'm trying to say. >> when you consider that -- as heavily arms as they -- armed as they were and highly organized and with such a great mission, again such a soft target, that didn't make a whole lot of sense, right?

>> and it makes sense to them, though. once they look at the victimology of the site and the victimology of each of the people at this luncheon or at this event, they'll get a much better idea of why this group, why this building. and they really do have to rule out any kind of perm involvement. although i'm not sure they're going to be able to do that. because it does sound like a very nuance group of people. why would these people be selected? they'll look at what -- from the survivors, they'll look at what took place within the room where the shooting occurred. that will also tell us a lot about whether or not there is personalization here on the part of the people that were selected to be victims. so the victimology is going to be critical here. >> you know, there is also concerns, as you mentioned, about what could follow. different people, whether they are inspired by anything that happened overseas or doing it here. there is a lot of questions. but what do we mean by using the

term terrorism at home. how would you use the term and would you use it in this scenario? >> i would. and there is two uses of the word terrorism. we use it losely to describe an event that terrorized people and that is applicable here. and there is the legal term of terrorism. but at this point in the investigation, people are using the term far more loosely. once these individuals are apprehended, and i believe they will be, and then the prosecutors will determine whether or not there is enough evidence to support a charge of terrorism. but again, it is two separate definitions. but i think for right now it is certainly fair to say that what happened here is a crime that was terrifying and it could at some point rise to the level of being a terrorist act. >> is it a safe assumption that, as organized as they were in planning this and carrying it out, that they also had a highly evolved exit strategy at the same time. >> i would definitely agree with

that. they haven't confirmed whether they were wearing masks, but that would -- they were, that would go to the exit plan. and that exit plan, and carrying it out this way, that all required such a great deal of coordinated planning, knowledge of the event, surveillance of the site had to occur. somebody had to do that. getting the weapons, getting the clothing, the practicing and the very mission-oriented event. with that defined escape plan. a certain automobile that they use. so all of that took some time and money and effort. and those are the things that make these threw shooters vulnerable. >> just real quick, mary ellen, before we let you go, i'm sorry, the way the police and others have reacted to this makes it seem like the shooter or shooters came and accomplished their mission and then left. is there anything though, to suggest, given now they may be armed, dangerous and at large,

that they might be up to something again. >> you mean tonight? >> whenever? >> any time? >> i definitely think that is a possibility. and whether it is tonight or tomorrow -- i think it is definitely a possibility. they have to presume that that could happen and act accordingly. >> yeah. thank you mary ellen, for joining us this evening. a former profiler for the fbi. we turn now to cheryl dorsey, a former sergeant with the los angeles ipapolice department. and if you are in los angeles, what kind of response has there been now that we know that these guys or guys are at large. >> i understand that there are units from los angeles police department that are going to be assisting in the on-scene activities. so one of the things that comes to mind for me, as i think about what is unfolding, is surveillance cameras in the area that might help us back into how this event happened and possibly help to identify the suspects

and/or accomplices that helped them flee the scene. >> give us a time line on that. how much time is reasonable to get that -- go through that process, of identifying the cameras, the timeline and trying to figure out which vehicle may be the one you are looking for? >> well, that is going to be very difficult and it is going to be labor intensive because after all, we have to identify businesses and buildings that have cameras, are they operable and how long do you maintain the video. there are so many variable as that may help or delay identifying suspects. and then you have to narrow down the inception of this event and look for vehicles coming and going. so it is very labor intensive. but i'm certain if they are able to view video, this will be helpful. >> i'm sure as well, as they said, they are desperate for information from any friends, family, anybody who might have seen something in the area. how helpful is that generally for you guys?

>> certainly having eyewitnesses who were there at the time and saw something in the moment that didn't seem out of the ordinary to them but in hindsight might be very helpful in terms of suspicious activity, vehicles that may have been double parked, vehicles that maybe for those who are familiar with the area, work in the area and are there all of the time, notice something that was just a little off but didn't pay it much attention at the time. and so every detail, no matter how small, is certainly going to be helpful. >> are you surprised at the disconnect we've been discussing at length here, how organized and sophisticated this attack was on such a soft target in an unlikely area? >> well, you know, it is very difficult to predict when a bad thing will happen, right. and so for someone to pick this group, this building, this time to do this horrendous thing is really mind-boggling, but for to garner the kind of attention it clearly it has. it is a national topic of discussion right now.

and so is that the motivation. does someone have angst with someone in the building or someone involved with that company? there is just so much unknown about what may have prompted these peemt to attack this site -- prompted these people to attack this site. >> i get that until you tell me that there is more than one shooter. if i'm a copy cat, a lone wolf and i want to make a statement of some kind. >> get that. but when you have two or three shooters, doesn't that change the whole equation then. >> it almost feels very personal. that three people would come into a facility like this and hurt the number of -- have the number of casualties that they had, makes me think that there is more to it than just a random shooting. i think there is something familiar with these suspects and this location. >> i also wonder, at some point, there might have to be a large regional response. and you disrupt the lives you are trying to protect. at what point do you do

something for significant to try to get at these people who have apparently fled the scene or is it simply too late? >> you have to figure that out as the information reveals itself to you. so this is so very fluid and so much unknown and it is very difficult to try to guess in which direction law enforcement officials will be going at this point. >> and as kelly was saying, you're an hour away. do you suspect that there are seek measures being taken in los angeles right now in response to this? >> absolutely. los angeles and really everywhere in the world. but at this point, it feels as if we're not safe anywhere. and so i think it just makes good sense to be vigilant, be cautious, and error on the side of caution with regards to security. >> you mention the importance of having the video footage and i don't know at what point, whether the funding is there to try to do something more large-scale across towns and communities in this count so

there are -- country so there is live or footage you could immediately turn to to get a lead so in this case they would have had a sense, this is the vehicle and had more information about it and this is what we have to pursue. >> and just seeing a vehicle on video may not provide the lead we are looking for. and so it will take something that connects that vehicle with this event or the timing of the vehicle or the direction taken, if someone saw a vehicle leave in a certain direction. again, many different variables that could delay and hamper the first responders and those following up with the investigation. >> all right, sherrill, if you'll stand by for a moment. we want to go back to our reporter on scene there, jane wells. what do you have? >> reporter: bill, we're waiting and hoping that within the next five minutes, although i don't see them here, the police chief here in san bernardino, along with the sheriff, will give us the latest briefing. they said they would update us

every hour on the hour even if they didn't have news. but perhaps the fact they are not standing by here means they are getting information. as you know, within the hour, the latest news is up to 14 dead. up to 14 with injuries that required them to be sent to the hospital. others who have been injured with minor injuries. we hope to find out at this particular news conference if they have, in fact, cleared now the entire facility. i just spoke with a man whose wife -- you didn't want to go on camera, whose wife was inside one of the buildings today. she said she heard gunfire and the alarms went off. i asked if she was familiar with that conference room on the first floor and he said yes. he said everybody uses it. the county uses it. everybody uses it. she thought there was a environmental or county group using it today, and that appears to be, although the police have not confirmed it yet, the room that up to three gunman, very well-armed and dressed as if, quote, on a mission, broke in.

we are hearing that -- we are hearing that, again, courts are closed down here. schools are being beefed up. hospitals with security and county buildings are closed and momentarily we hope to get more information. as soon as we get it, we'll give it to you. >> jane, thanks very much. >> our jane wells on the scene. we turn now to jim cramer. he is host of "mad money." jim, we watch these markets jie rate trying to make sense of this this afternoon. and now with a couple of hours passed, i'm not sure we've learned much more. >> look. it is a fluid situation. as they are saying, as jane wells doing excellent reporting as usual is telling us. i would tell you that the stocks that reported after-hours, that gave you information about how they are doing while we saw this event have traded up. so it is not like the people have decided, it doesn't matter what companies say. it is tough to talk about individual stocks when we are watching this tragedy ub un -- unfold. but stocks today were positive after the -- once it reported.

>> could you point to any market response to any of this. coincidence or not, we saw the mashlgt decline -- market decline the most after news was coming out about this. >> well, i think, look, we were headed for a down day because the consensus was building that people would be surprised if the fed raises rates, if we have a strong employment number. but i think, bill, when you get these situations where some people know and they just presume for the worst and they sell. and look, we've seen the worst. and we know that that is certainly a possibility, that people are going to do that. and that exacerbated what i would say in the afternoon would have been a decline given the fact that janet yellen didn't really shock anybody. >> and we know these aren't at the end of the day economic, they are more social events. what kind of fallout do you think we might expect? >> i think until the shooters are found and until a decent time -- interval has passed to see whether there isn't something larger going on, i suspect that once again we'll all feel like, look, why bother

to buy anything. it is not why bother to sell, it is why not buy. it puts pressure on the market. >> and say lot could happen overnight. you get the market responses in asia and europe overnight, but what do you think is happening. >> i hate to put too much pressure on the police out there and the authorities. if they catch these -- the alleged criminals and if this turns out to be isolated, even though when so many people die it is clearly not an isolated event, we'll go back to trading and your worries about the unemployment number and companies like pvh that is on "mad money" and avago, a large semiconductor company. and we'll return to mario draghi and what he has to say about quantitative easing. and i don't want to say we go back to usual. because one of these, it is less

of what ever usual is. and bill and kelly, it is going to be what the companies are saying and what the fed says and what they say in europe. >> we get back to fundamentals at that point. jim, thanks very much. we'll keep tabs on this story but you can take it from here. >> thank you very much, appreciate it. welcome to "mad money." it's a tough day, obviously, out west. tough day in the country. still we come out to make sense of what's happening in the market. and while the tragic news certainly impacted stocks, there was a broader context to what turned out to be a fairly large decline. the context centered more on a speech given by the chairwoman of the federal reserve than any other event, including the tragedy unfolding out west. now, you know, we can hang on every word the federal reserve chairwoman janet yellen says about what whether the fed might raise rate. we can debate the size of the rate hike, the speed of the increases and what the statement will say, some people will feel